EPA eliminates its scientific research arm

The Environmental Protection Agency said on Friday it was dismantling its scientific research branch, expanding the Trump administration’s efforts to shrink the agency.

The move to eliminate the Office of Research and Development, which will prompt the exodus of hundreds of chemists and scientists assigned to conduct independent research on a range of environmental hazards, is part of a push to cut 23% of the agency’s staff. Its work, which often underpinned stricter federal regulations, was criticized by chemical manufacturers and other industries.

In January, according to an EPA news release, the agency had 16,155 employees. More than 3,700 employees have left the agency since then because of layoffs, separations and retirements, the agency said.

The reductions will save taxpayers $748.8 million, the statement added.

“This reduction in force will ensure we can better fulfill that mission while being responsible stewards of your hard-earned tax dollars,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said.

The announcement follows months of speculation that the agency planned to abolish the research division, though the agency denied the accusations.

The office, which conducts independent research to assess impacts on human health and the environment, had about 1,155 employees at the beginning of Trump’s tenure. The agency did not confirm how many staffers would be cut.

An EPA spokeswoman said in an email that the agency’s next step was to send “reduction in force” notices to individual employees, adding that the staff cuts won’t affect the agency’s ability to ensure the health and safety of Americans.

“EPA has the resources needed to accomplish the agency’s core mission of protecting human health and the environment, fulfill all statutory obligations, and support President Trump’s agenda,” the spokeswoman said in an email.

Union officials said the agency is destroying one of the world’s leading office of environmental scientists, which could leave the nation vulnerable to potential threats.

“Without the Office of Research and Development, our nation’s air, water and land will turn more toxic and our people more sick with preventable disease,” said Nicole Cantello, a legislative and political coordinator in the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Council 238, a nationwide union that represents more than 8,000 EPA employees.

Staffers from the division were notified about the RIF through the public press release, said Kyla Bennett, director of science policy at Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. Staff were then notified about an all-staff meeting scheduled for Monday.

Bennett said the manner in which the RIF was communicated was “cruel and shortsighted.”

“Trump’s EPA clearly doesn’t care about scientific research or protecting human health and the environment any more than they care for the scientists who have dedicated their lives to serving the American people,” she said.

EPA said it would create a new office focused on scientific research, named the Office of Applied Science and Environmental Solutions.

Earlier this year Trump officials placed the entire staff of the Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights on administrative leave, but later reinstated dozens of employees across the country. On Friday, the EPA said it had laid off 280 staffers working on diversity, equity and inclusion and environment justice and transferred 195 employees to other offices.